


Fairy Tales

by swiftishere



Series: MSA AU Bin [15]
Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: F/F, Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy!Shiromori, Hunter!Vivi, Intricate Lesbian Courtship Rituals, MAYBE a lewthur-centric ch2 coming tomorrow but uh. no promises, Other tags to be added, Shapeshifting, dont take this as an authority on either subject im doing whatever works for the story, i completely bullshit things about fairies and also hunting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 01:13:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29991627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiftishere/pseuds/swiftishere
Summary: The Fair Folk like to play games with the lives of humans. Their interests and desires are so far removed from ours as to be incomprehensible, or so everyone says.So what are you to do, when one takes an interest in you?
Relationships: Shiromori/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Series: MSA AU Bin [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942603
Kudos: 7





	Fairy Tales

Vivi was out hunting one day. It was quiet, with bright sun and a light breeze, and she’d taken up post in a tree, patiently waiting for an animal to pass by. 

The deer that pranced through the clearing drew her eyes immediately. Her hand went to her bow, and she tensed, watching it. 

Its fur was white and shaggy, but its legs were bare and colored a vibrant blue, with a texture reminiscent of tree bark. Its antlers looked much the same, draped with delicate sprays of white leaves and pink flowers. Its steps were slow and deliberate, almost like it was… showing off. 

She nocked an arrow, aiming for the leg to incapacitate. 

As though attuned to the tiny sound of creaking wood, its ears went up and suddenly it was bounding into the trees. 

Not about to let it get away, she drew her dagger, abandoning the bow, and gave chase. It was nimble and quick, but with it weaving its larger body through the trees, she could easily keep pace with it. Just a _little_ faster… 

Coming up onto another clearing, she summoned her energy and jumped, locking her free arm around its neck. The deer tumbled, but she held fast. She ended up perched over its flank, dagger raised in the air. 

And then she was dropped to the forest floor as the deer vanished. Suddenly there were clawed fingers on her chest – but not digging in, as she’d initially feared, just… resting there. A light warning. 

In front of her was… possibly the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen, in a way that was inhuman and unfamiliar. Her skin was the blue bark of the deer’s antlers, and in her free hand she held a white cloak with a collar of woven wood that mimicked those antlers almost exactly. Her hands were large and tipped with sharp claws, and the coarse white hair cascading around her face was spotted with small pink flowers. Her eyes were rimmed with pink petals. She was smiling with sharp teeth, but the expression wasn’t cruel. More amused than anything. 

“You’re quick, hunter,” she said. Her voice sounded like creaking trees and wind through the leaves. “But too curious for your own good.” 

“You wanted me to chase you,” she replied, half accusatory and half joking, as she got to her feet. 

The smile grew a little wider. “Maybe I wanted to catch you.” 

She flipped her knife back into her belt and stepped away, tilting her head up a little. “Did you, now? And now that you have me?” 

“Hm-m. That’s a good question, isn’t it?” 

“I don’t hear much about you catching other hunters in these woods.” 

She stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Vivi had to look up even farther to see her face. “You’re not like other hunters.” 

“Tell me, what do they call you around here?” 

The smile was back. “Catch me again, and maybe I’ll tell you.” 

And then the deer went bounding off into the woods, and she was left alone in the clearing. 

* * *

Vivi went back to the forest the next day. The weather was nice again, with even less wind today. 

She’d left her bow behind yesterday, and was in the middle of retracing her steps to hopefully find it, when she stopped suddenly, listening to the background birdsong. It didn’t sound like any bird she knew, she realized, and she’d grown up with these woods.

Turning slowly, she turned her eyes up to the canopy, scanning for anything – there! A largish blue-and-white songbird, singing to itself, to all appearances totally unaware of her presence.

Still no bow – and she wouldn’t really want to shoot it, anyway – so she retreated a ways away and scrambled up a nearby tree. Fingers on the wood, she inched along a branch. _Almost there..._

Just before she reached its tree, the bird took wing, darting into the air and almost seeming to give her a look of challenge before it took off.

Cursing, she gave chase, relying on instinct to keep her from falling. She jumped from branch to branch, the bird always just a few inches out of reach. She felt things snap under her feet, but always a moment later than she’d sprung off the wood. 

They were coming up to another clearing, where the thick branches stopped. She leaned a little farther forward, and her hand locked around the bird’s body, pinning its wings – and at the same instant, the branch beneath her gave out. She went tumbling to the forest floor, bird still in hand, lifted in the air so she didn’t crush it.

And then the bird vanished from her hand and standing over her was the fairy, this time with both hands at her collar, having just unclasped a delicate feathered cape.

“You’re reckless, too.”

Panting a little, she got up, brushing dirt from her shoulder. “I _did_ get you. So…?” 

“You can call me Shiromori.” _White Forest_. She gave a little bow as she said it. 

Vivi pursed her lips. “That isn’t what I asked…” 

That actually got a little _laugh_ from her – a delicate sound, somewhere between birdsong and wind. “You’ll have to catch me one more time, then.” 

And then the bird vanished above the trees, and she was alone again. 

* * *

She hadn’t been having much luck hunting lately. Which was probably partly because she wasn’t paying full attention. She was always looking out for a bit of blue-and-white darting through the trees. 

Her traps still worked, and she caught enough. But there was still no sign of Shiromori. 

One day she slid down against a tree with a sigh. And then she heard a curious noise from beside her – like a high-pitched laugh. 

She turned to look, and beside her was a fox, with a blue bark snout and a white pelt dotted with flowers. In a flash she was on her feet, knife in hand, and she was right behind the fox as it darted off. 

This was the longest chase she’d given yet. The fox was small and quick, and a few times she nearly lost it in the undergrowth. Her lungs were starting to burn, her legs scratched from leaping over bushes to follow it. It darted through logs, into gnarled roots, and leapt across a creek, and she could only barely keep it in her sights. 

Realizing she wasn’t going to catch it like this, she ran through options in her head, and then threw her knife forward. It buried itself in the ground just in front of the fox’s path, and as she’d hoped, it started and reared back in alarm – giving her the opening she needed to jump on it. 

It vanished like the others, but this time she was ready, and as the fairy appeared with the fur cloak in hand, she grabbed her arms and pushed her against a tree, pinning her back. 

Shiromori just laughed. “Oh, and you’re _clever!”_

“And,” she said triumphantly through harsh breaths, “I _win._ ” 

Her expression sobered a little, into a faint smile. And then she easily pushed Vivi’s arms and mimicked her posture, framing her own shoulders in her much larger hands. She could feel the strength there, far past the capability of a normal person, but the way she held her was gentle. She leaned down a little, mouth at her ear. 

“My name is,” she began, and then made a strange sound. It sounded like whistling wind and the fox’s laughter and the rustle of leaves. And then she leaned back, almost… waiting. 

Vivi opened her mouth and surprised herself by perfectly mimicking the sound she’d made. “It’s… pretty.” 

“Use it wisely.” 

She took the side of her chin and leaned into a kiss – small, and quick, with sharp teeth pricking at her lips – and then released her entirely, leaving her reeling a little. 

The fox vanished into thick brush, and Vivi was left standing there for a while. She ran her tongue over her teeth, tasting flowers and remembering the feeling of that un-word in her mouth. 


End file.
